Timothy TorresPip Stress Management BiosensorFor the price of the Pip Stress Management Biosensor, you can buy a true fitness tracker and boost your mood through exercise, rather than try to understand inscrutable graphs and numbers.

For the price of the Pip Stress Management Biosensor, you can buy a true fitness tracker and boost your mood through exercise, rather than try to understand inscrutable graphs and numbers.

With fitness trackers, you can monitor steps, stairs climbed, and calories. Some, like the Pip Stress Management Biosensor ($179) can track your emotional state. This small Bluetooth-connected device pairs with mobile apps on your phone or tablet and uses electrical signals in your skin to measure and manage your stress levels. While an interesting idea, the design of the device is flawed, the lackluster apps offer little information, and the data provided isn't terribly useful.

Design and Features The Pip is a small device made of smooth plastic, shaped like a tear drop, which is fitting for a gadget that wants to help you control your emotions. It comes in black or white, measures 2.1 by 1.3 by 0.5 inches (HWD), and it weighs 0.6 ounces. There are two circular gold-plated sensors on each side, near the rounded end. Near the pointed end, you'll see two small LEDs that indicate the Pip's charging and power status.

Pip uses a lithium polymer battery that can be recharged via a micro-USB port located on the back of the rounded end. A micro-USB cord comes with the device, but there's no outlet brick, so you'll have to supply your own or plug it into a USB charging port on your PC. It runs for up to 8 hours on a single charge.

Unlike the Spire, another device that tracks your emotional well-being, there is no clip, which means you have to hold the Pip in your hand or keep it in your pocket if you want to test your stress on the go. The Pip also lacks notifications, or any other features for that matter. It only measures your stress through its apps and sensors. The Spire, meanwhile, delivers push notifications through its app, and vibrates to alert you if you've been idle too long, or if it notices through your breathing pattern that you're feeling tense and need to calm down. The Pip does not vibrate.

To use the Pip, you squeeze the device by holding your index finger and thumb on the gold-plated sensors. These sensors detect the electrical activity of the sweat glands on the surface of your skin, and the Pip uses these readings to measure how relaxed (or stressed) you are. According to the company, that data, visualized in a series of apps, will help you "control your emotions for the better" so you can improve your mental fitness. The information, though, is inscrutable bordering on useless.

PairingTo make full use of the Pip you need to download up to three apps: Pip Stress Tracker, Loom, and Relax & Race. Once you download the apps, you need to put the Pip into Pairing mode by pressing and holding the two sensors until the LEDs turn green. Then whichever of the three apps you have open will find your Pip. After that, tap Connect and you should be paired. You only need to pair the Pip one time per app. After that, the apps will automatically detect the device when it's on. The Pip and accompanying apps work with devices running Android 2.3 or later, and the iPhone 4s or later. For testing, I connected the Pip to a Samsung Galaxy S6 in a few seconds with no issues.

Apps and PerformanceAs mentioned, there are three apps compatible with the Pip. Each one is horizontally oriented, so you have to hold your device sideways the whole time.

First, let's cover the Pip Stress Tracker app. After a brief series of introduction slides, you're brought to the main screen where you'll see New Session, My Pip, Users, Statistics, and Help icons. New Session is where you'll spend most of your time. After tapping New Session, you choose a user, then the connected Pip, and your session duration (from 2 to 20 minutes). Tap Start Session, squeeze the Pip between your index finger and thumb, and you can watch your Relaxed, Steady, and Stressed levels rise and fall in real-time as green, red, and yellow lines. The Spire measures your breaths in a similar manner. At the session's end you'll receive a Pip Score, which is calculated by averaging the number of relaxed, stress, and steady events you experience, as well as the session length. The more relaxed you are, the better your score.

Whereas the Spire accurately detects and alerts the user of anxiety, I found the Pip's results to be random. I used it while walking, while on the subway, while at my desk, at home, and in the middle of conversation and found no correlation between the Pip Score and how I felt. Sometimes I was completely relaxed and the stress increased. When I was among a crowd, a typically stressful environment, my Pip Score was 100, meaning I was apparently the most relaxed one could possibly get. The score would've been zero if I was tearing my hair out, going mad out from anxiety. In short, the score doesn't mean much, and the device itself does nothing to alert or help you reduce stress. And what exactly is the difference between Relaxed and Steady moments? The app gives you no explanation and nothing to do with all the data you accrue.

You can at least customize your device. Under My Pip you can connect, rename, disconnect, power down, and view the battery life of your Pip. You can connect at least two Pips to the same mobile device at once. Tap Users and you can add new Pip user profiles, select your gender, and rename your profile. Tap Statistics and you can view your stress tracking session breakdown (Steady, Relaxed, or Stressed), your total number of sessions, and your last recording session, measured in hours.

The other two Pip apps are non-starters. The Loom never worked in my testing; it crashed each time I tried to open it. Potentially, it's supposed to help you relax with music and images that shift depending your mood. The Relax & Race app attempts to gamify stress tracking with a dragon racing game where you and another Pip user can connect to the same device. The more relaxed you are, the faster your dragon flies. The whole endeavor—relaxing to race quicker—feels counterintuitive.

ConclusionThe Pip is meant to help you manage your stress. It's $180. Instead of paying that much for something that tracks inexplicable stats, you're better off making some chamomile tea and settling on the couch for an evening of Netflix to relax.

The idea behind the Pip doesn't sit well with me, either. I see nothing wrong with feeling the way you do at any given moment. We're not robots; we're human. And there are better methods to boost your mood than squeezing the Pip. I recommend running. If you want to measure your stats, the Fitbit Charge HR is a comfortable wristband that tracks your calories, steps, distance, heart rate, and more. And it delivers insightful information in a single well-designed app.

Pip Stress Management Biosensor

Bottom Line: For the price of the Pip Stress Management Biosensor, you can buy a true fitness tracker and boost your mood through exercise, rather than try to understand inscrutable graphs and numbers.

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About the Author

Timothy Torres is a Junior Analyst on PCMag's consumer electronics team. He covers wearables, digital home, and various cool gadgets including the occasional video game. He has written all manner of copy for Computer Shopper, The Jersey Journal, Radio One, Random House, and 2D-X. Before entering the tech world, he attended New York University and w... See Full Bio

Pip Stress Management Biosensor...

Pip Stress Management Biosensor

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